I love a lab based romance and this book did not disappoint. I would say pick up this book if you loved The Love Hypothesis but wished it was enemies to lovers. This book follows postdoc student Liz, and her former PhD assessor Tom, who made it his life's mission to make Liz miserable to conceal his crush during her time as a student. Once they are forced into close proximity, and the hurdles keeping them apart disappear, we find out if Tom has what it takes to fix his mistakes. You will love these characters, their banter, and the conflict resolution.

Questo romanzo ha molti trope che io adoro: enemies to lovers, age gap, forced proximity, he fall first (🔥)… e il fatto che sia anche STEM mi ha dato un po’ di The love hypothesis vibes ma al contempo ho cercato di vivermi la lettura senza lasciarmi influenzare da uno dei miei libri preferiti.
Ho adorato il conflitto e la tensione tra Liz e Tom, specie visto che quest’ultimo, essendo il professore della protagonista, non ha esitato a fare un passo indietro dopo il loro primo incontro e fingere di odiarla per quattro anni. Liz, poi, è una protagonista femminile pazzesca, che sa ciò che vuole e sa farsi rispettare. L’ho adorata!
Ho percepito alcune parti un po’ frettolose, tuttavia è un libro assolutamente godibile e che ho apprezzato. E, nel caso in cui ve lo steste chiedendo si, c’è lo spicy 🔥

I adored this book. I've always loved a good enemies to lovers trope. Loved the tension and banter between Liz and Tom. Although, I think Tom's best friend, Daichi, was my favorite character. The one thing that bothered me was that it was never explained why Liz had run away from Tom all those years ago. Anywho, I'm loving all these extremely smart and sassy (described as nerdy) female leading roles.

Synopsis:
After suffering four years of scrutiny from her PhD assessor, Elizabeth Maclean believes she’s finally free of Dr Thomas Henderson’s tyranny when she begins her postdoc. But when a fire goes off in Tom’s lab (stupid undergrads) he ends up working in the same lab as Liz.

To make matters worse – and much to their mutual surprise – Tom’s mum and Liz’s dad announce their impending marriage after a whirlwind romance. So when Liz’s landlord tells her to move out, pronto, it tips her over the edge. Desperate for a place to stay and in need of a saviour, the last person Liz expects to offer her a temporary home is Tom himself.

Now stuck working together, living together and planning their parents’ Christmas wedding together, will Liz discover that Tom’s attitude over the last four years was all a ruse to hide his true feelings? Or are the two doomed to fail in their co-existence experiment?

A smart, sexy enemies-to-lovers story perfect for fans of The Hating Game, Book Lovers and The Love Hypothesis,

Thank You NetGalley and BookGoSocial for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The banter in this was so funny! This book did a good job of twisting together the insta-love troupe with the slow-burn troupe and the enemies to lovers. I will definitely recommend this title to my friends when it is released.

thank you to netgalley and booksgosocial for the early release of the unbalanced equation. unfortunately, this was not the book for me.

i was super excited to read this one, but i just couldn’t connect with either of our main characters at all. elizabeth is just okay as our female lead, and thomas is just god awful. both of them continually manipulate each other in many different situations and we’re supposed to just be like yay! i love love! hooray! thank you again to the publisher for this early release. 2.5 stars.

As the first book I have read of this author's, I was delightfully surprised and enraptured with The Unbalanced Equation by H.L. Macfarlane. This novel is the Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman in a universe where all romantic-comedy novels are DC Universe characters; filled with delicious and clever banter arrogantly wrapped inside a shiny black patent pleather shell. It is the perfect novel for all you readers out there that are thirsty for more STEMinist romances or:

- Enemies to Lovers: an initial scene between Tom and Liz is described as a scene from "every shounen anime ever where the camera zooms in first on the hero's face and then the rival's without either of them blinking", and we all know how tense that feeling is

- Miscommunication: SO much miscommunication, or rather lack of communication; certainly the world would be easier if we all just said what we're thinking, but it would be much less interesting

- Forbidden Romance: there is something to be said about a teacher/student power dynamic, even when when it ceases to be the case

- Mr. Darcy Level Pining : instead of pride and prejudice, Tom and Liz have arrogance and history

- Forced Proximity: literally everything, including an expensive sounding laboratory , bursts into flames to keep these two together... and even when there are no physical barriers they keep coming together like magnets

Vicious Banter (straight up almost bullying, but it's somehow incredibly hot): this is not one of those fluffy "enemies to lovers" novels where the adversarial relationship is merely passive; it is straight up aggressive, purposefully spiteful at times in the most intriguing way. As someone who has spent this summer reading a lot of Dramione fanfics, I appreciated this

What I Liked Most About This Book :
- I was mimosa-level horny for Daichi; I wish we could have a prequel novel about him and his wife May. He is such a shit-disturber in the ways only a best friend can be. He was blatantly and delightfully manipulative to either give Tom an opportunity with Liz or maybe just make him suffer so he could laugh.
- This book was truly written for nerds, by a nerd. It was peppered with mentions of anime, fantasy, even You-Gi-Oh because why not. Whose sexual awakening didn't include Tuxedo Mask!?
- Despite there being only a couple of actual sexual scenes, the whole book was actually quite spicy. Even when not explicit, the banter and pining was constant foreplay for the reader. There is something so tingly about two people truly punishing each other with sexual frustration. I felt personally victimized/edged by all the. *almost* moments
- Highlighting the fact that not everyone wants to have a nuclear family with 2.5 children. You can be childless, common law and still be happily in love with a white picket fence.

What I Didn't Like :
- There was a serious missed opportunity to make innuendos or jokes about hentai
- Although Tom is like, ten years Liz's senior, because of how juvenile some of his manipulations were (that asshat), he seemed a lot younger not in the best way. He would have to do a LOT more grovelling (let's reverse that begging kink)
- Liz's Dad - who also seemed quite juvenile when he became a "pick-me" girl pouting about Tom and Liz's fight and the wedding

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I recieved a advanced copy of the unbalanced equation. It was a fun book that I enjoyed about love and the workplace and what to not do to get the girl.

This was my first book by this author and it was awesome! As someone who works in HigherEd I loved a lot of the environment/setting of the book. The h is a postdoc, and the H is her grumpy/possessive former PhD advisor. The H has been pining for her for years and it creates a hot tension throughout the story that kept me engaged.

The dialogue was really good as well and it was just an all around fun, steamy, workplace rom com.

I can't wait to read more from this author.

The unbalanced equation by H.L. MacFarlane

I really enjoyed this book. It starts with a flashback to 4 years ago and the comes back to present day. It follows a FMC who works in STEM. I really enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Liz and Tom. I wanted to slap Tom with some of the decisions he made but I understood the end result he was hoping for even if he was going about it all wrong. He just kept digging himself a bigger hole to try and crawl out of!

If you loved the love hypothesis I think you’d love this also.
This was my first book by H.L MacFarlane but I would 100% read another book by this author as I really enjoyed this storyline. It was also very refreshing to see a FMC who didn’t want marriage and kids but still wanted to settle down in her own way. I really appreciated it not being the typical thing where it revolves around marriage and kids be the only way an FMC can be happy. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

A really well thought out and cute romantic comedy. I loved the STEM aspect of it and I LOVED the Scottish setting. In the vain of The Love Hypothesis or The Soulmate Equation, but without the fake dating. Like with these books, the main coming together doesn't happen until over halfway through the book. But unlike these others, there is such huge tension built up that the reader is not lacking. Several smaller spicy interactions keeps you going. These characters had so much witty banter and such good chemistry that I really found myself rooting for them. I loved the dual POV and the chance to experience events from both perspectives, but events did not repeat which it often does in dual POV. So this made things move along well. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars was because it was almost 500 pages which is a lot for a rom com. Overall fun and entertaining experience and cannot wait to read the rest.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. I found it boring and the characters really got annoying. 25% in and I was done.

A fast funny read that is enjoyable

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

DNF at 35%


I'm going to out myself on my age here, and say that The Unbalanced Equation reminded me MOST of LiveJournal fanfiction circa, say, 2006. While I do love a good fluffy, fun plot, unfortunately, the immature main characters, the stilted dialogue/internal thoughts, and the toxic behaviors of the MCs reminded me strongly of a different era of writing.. I was, shall we say, less than impressed. However, I was willing to overlook the cringey dialogue and the plot premised on unbelievable coincidences for the sake of a fun romance. I've needed one of those lately.

However, the characters themselves made me give up on this book.. When the MAIN male MC has so many toxic behaviors that, as a reader, I have to twist myself into logic knots to overlook...I can't. I am all for character development, but I have to WANT the couple to be together. But Tom was so toxic in so many ways and it was presented as charming or at least just awkward. So when I can't root for the main couple, that's when it's over, as a romance book, for me.

Thanks to Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Ah. What?

How did I just finish this book about step-siblings who fall in love and ended up giving it 4 stars? I know it sounds weird putting it like that, but...it was good.

So this is an enemies-to-lovers, hard pining book with Dual-POV. Things go a little bit downhill for me because Thomas and Elizabeth, who work together(ish) in STEM and despise (though not really) each other, find out that their parents, Jenny (Tom's mum) and Jim (Liz's dad) fall in love and get engaged. And this is a book about Liz and Tom's relationship (from enemies to "friends" to lovers). What bugs me is the elephant in the room that is...is this incest in some way or not? I mean, they're step-siblings!! And everyone in the book seems okay with that fact! Even the parents!! Am I the only one bothered with this?

Nevertheless, forgetting about that, the story is built very very well. I've read a couple enemies-to-lovers and the MC's end up together in some way even before we reach 50% of the book, which sometimes is unnerving. But with this book, they only got together around 70% of the story, and I loved the tension and the games that were being played so much! It worked so well with the story because the characters didn't felt pushed to be together immediately.

The banter was phenomenal, the writing was simple yet interesting, though some characters did felt a bit left out, or maybe forgotten, it still wasn't something that bothered me enough to lower my rate.

The ending felt a little bit out of place, but knowing that we are going to get more of Liz and Tom in other books (Hot Mess trilogy), maybe it'll work out a bit better. I am curious to see where their relationship ends up and I do have some expectations but that isn't for here.

All in all, it was a good book and I think that STEM/enemies-to-lovers/slowburn/hard pining fans are going to enjoy this one. I know I did. Plus the cover is really cute!

Signing off,
B.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After hitting it off at an office party, Tom is looking forward to pursuing a relationship with Liz until he finds out she is going to be his grad student. He decides the best course of action is to be as harsh with her as possible during the 4 year assignment.

Fast forward to Liz graduating and getting a position at the same university. After an accident forces him to work in a new lab, he and Liz are unable to avoid each other. To make matters worse, he and Liz find out that their parents have been dating and are getting married... and will be moving in with Tom for a while. Soon after, Liz loses her lease and reluctantly agrees to move in as well.

Tom decides this is a good time to show Liz he's not so bad after all....but will she forgive his behavior from the last 4 years...?

A really fast read. It was engaging, funny and a good tale of enemies to .......
Loved the science elements and tales from the labs.
A great read

Have you ever wanted to get rid of that readers block? You're in luck! You have found what the doctor orders!

Liz hates Tom Handerson! The prick who made her academic life a living hell years ago. Their path will unfortunatly cross again… But fortunately for us reader, she will be forced to spend more time then she wants with Tom, and he will do everything in his power to make her change her mind about what she thought about him…

No surprises there, we know how it ends. But its perfect! It feels like putting on your fav PJ on an early autumn night. Comfy and warm, like the second blanket.

The Unbalanced Equation is the definition of an enemies to lover romance. Slow burn, and I mean burn! Forced proximity, he loved her since forever… And yeah, i’m a sucker for HEA and an epilogue… All there for the happiness of the reader.

I read the book in 2 sittings. I couldn’t wait for the other shoe to drop, I wanted to know if they where finally talk to each other… I got invested to say the least! The characters where well developed and very early on, I found myself rooting for Liz and Tom.

If you haven't guessed it yet, I recommend this book!
You want to get out of a reader's hungover after a series? You want an Happily Ever After (HEA) story that's witty and fun? If you like your romance with a dab of angst, GO and read that book!

Now!

Thanks H.L Macfarlane for the first book of your « Hot Mess Trilogy ». Can’t wait for the next instalment « Courtney Can’t Decide ».

*I added too many exclamation mark in that review and I’m not sorry about it.

First off this book was a really fun ride!

I was a bit worried at the start it was feeling a bit forced the way they were thrown together again and again in different situations over the course of a few pages but honestly after a few chapters I was glad for their "forced proximity" !

I absolutely love enemies to lovers books, especially when it's a slow burn and boy oh boy this burn is deliciously slow.

I enjoyed the double pov, it was good to know what was happening in both characters minds as they interacted, especially when as the reader I was thinking they were acting quite childish given their ages. It was nice for them to acknowledge that in their internal monologues.

Overall it was a fun easy read that had me up half the night hooked on every word. I think this is a must read for fans of the Love Hypothesis

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun romcom with quirky main characters and a number of side characters that made the story interesting.
What I liked about this book:
- the setting; the main characters were researchers and I liked seeing them interact in a professional setting
- the banter between the characters was entertaining with a number of laugh out loud moments for me
- the tropes; enemies to lovers, forced proximity and age gap (some of my favourites)
- the tension /chemistry between the MCs; it was electric and the dialogue and banter were superb
- the MCs idea of happily ever after did not include marriage and children; it was different from a typical romcom and I appreciated that


What I didn’t like about this book
- the conflict between the two main characters seemed to drag on for a really long time and made sections of the book tedious to read at times

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to others and look forward to reading other books by this author. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

4 🌟
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
This book was such a joy to read. Here's what I liked the most:

💗Loved how Tom accepted Liz for how she was (no extra expectations expected), this might seem cliché but few books that I know of exist where they do end up not having kids for real (The epilogue was so cute).
💗Who doesn't like filthy rich bf with a mansion that has a secret crush on a clueless fmc
Now, things that I didn"t like (I do not mean to offend anyone, this is just my personal opinion).

🤨Jim and Jenny just sprung the wedding idea out of the blue, seemed a bit ridiculous. Like their kids didn't even know they were dating? And the chances that he knew how bad Tom treated Liz, yet not confronting her beforehand :/
🤨The step-siblings trope.
It didn't fit and the offhand jokes that Jenny made about it, just icked.

But as a whole this book was a cute one, I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cute STEM book, with a major forced proximity trope.